Chairperson, hon Minister, hon members of executive councils, MECs, hon members of the NCOP, good evening. Please accept my sincere apologies. Today I am not feeling very well. My lack of energy does not mean that we will drag our feet as we deliver on the mandate.
I have decided to concentrate on three areas, adding to what the Minister has already said - that we are gearing ourselves to make Public Works a real business, to make a profit and to be a better custodian of the state's immovable assets.
But, I guess, having listened to all the members this evening, I am going to make a few changes, and also pick up on a few points. I'll focus on the most vulnerable as I personally believe that if Public Works could change and touch their lives, this country would become a better country. I'll start with one of my very favourite quotes written in the Integrated National Disability Strategy foreword by the former President of the Republic of South Africa, hon Thabo Mbeki, when he said:
Among the yardsticks by which to measure a society's respect for human rights, to evaluate the level of its maturity and its generosity of spirit, is by looking at the status that it accords to those members of society who are most vulnerable, the disabled people, senior citizens, and its children.
As Public Works, we may neither be Social Development nor the Ministry of Women, Youth, Children and People with Disabilities, but we are in a better place for changing the lives of these categories of people through ensuring access, provision of required job opportunities and creation of an environment that represents the needs of these sectors.
There are a number of challenges that we would have to deal with, and I am hoping, as the Minister has humbly requested already, that the provinces will assist us in that manner. One of the areas that we need to get right is our asset management system, in totality, as hon Groenewald was complaining a lot about that. We shall work towards establishing a consolidated asset management system without the exclusion of the provinces, as our preliminary findings showed that provinces are, at the moment, utilising different systems.
Public Works will, at the national level, move towards introducing and establishing a consolidated information and communications technologies, ICT, system that will enable us to respond to all the different assets so that hon members no longer say that they don't know where the assets are. Assets are getting dilapidated so we want to have one consolidated register to be able to know who owns what, where it is, and who is responsible for its maintenance. That is a commitment we are willing to make. In 2012, we will be halfway there. We are hoping that provinces will be ready to join us. With the commitment and hard work of the select committee, we will get there faster.
With regard to issues of our strategic priorities - the other member already spoke about issues of young people - it is important to mention that we are geared up for our Priority Area Number 4. We are going to partner with tertiary institutions, especially those for disadvantaged young black people, to transform the built environment to be conducive and to respond to the needs of young people; also, to enable us to reduce the shortage of skills in that sector.
As a responsive department, we are committed to ensure that by 3 December, which is the International Day of Persons with Disabilities, we shall have provided the necessary guidelines on what informs the buildings we are making accessible, given the limited resources we have, so that provinces are able to tap into those guidelines and prioritise which buildings to make accessible.
We will also work towards guidelines for the restructuring of the built environment professions. As much as we've got the best regulations, for some reason our engineers, quantity surveyors and architects continue to produce inaccessible buildings which we will have to pick up and make accessible at another cost. Somehow, we need to make sure that that does not happen. We must ensure that they are able to comply with the existing building regulations.
We need to empower the Council for the Built Environment, CBE, to be in a position to assist professionals to respect the accessible legislations, as we are committed to the principle that South Africa belongs to all who live in it, including the disabled, who must have access to those buildings that are costing us money. Every time they produce them, we have to go back and make them accessible.
We are committed to change the lives of children. We are fully aware that we have made a commitment with regard to early childhood development, bearing in mind that in rural areas there are no early childhood development, ECD, centres. Working together with the Department of Social Development, we are going to make ECDs centres accessible so that for rural children it is not just a distant dream or a "nice-to-have", but a structure built in a safe environment that responds to the needs of children in terms of age appropriateness. That will be another way to ensure that we meet the third target of 500 000 jobs. [Interjections.] Yes, of course. They will be sustainable.
The Department of Public Works is committed to ensuring that the public works because we do work. We are committed to creating a department that will be responsive to the needs of the people. We shall utilise Public Works to give South Africa a face-lift and ensure that no one goes hungry with a department that could produce.
Let me thank the President for awarding me an opportunity as the first visually-impaired member of his Cabinet. This goes a long way to show that this country respects the human rights of all, and that it is a country that belongs to all who live in it. I also want to thank the ANC as the party that respects the rights of disabled people and believes that we also have the ability and the capacity to deliver the mandate that they have been given.
I also want to thank the Minister, the department and all the officials for all their support. I am looking forward to robust engagements with the select committee. I am grateful for the support from the departments. I also want to thank my team in the office that is always making it possible for me to function and discharge my duties with respect. I also thank my husband, who is always by my side, supporting me in all that I do, sometimes delaying his own dreams and aspirations. I also want to thank my children who, as a young parent, I raise with a remote control!
In conclusion, the implementation of the Construction Charter will be the key to the success of the many programmes I alluded to. The construction industry is one of the sectors not yet affected negatively by the global recession, but it is also a sector that has a high skills shortage and feels the high impact of HIV/Aids. As a result, we shall be investing a lot of time and energy in ensuring that we develop a very good programme. Working together, our contributions will prove to be invaluable to the processes of the creation of a truly people-centred society as we move towards a developmental state that we will all be proud of. [Applause.]
Ndi one mafhungo e nda vha ndo vha farela one. [This is the information I had for you.]
Ke a leboga. [Thank you.]